NATIONAL EDUCATION FOUNDATION

National Education Foundation, a charitable organization has been in the field of adventure sports for the past 19 years. In this period NEF has trained thousands of young boys and girls in the basics of adventure sports. In its annual adventure sports camps the participating youngsters are trained in the basics of: Archery, Rifle shooting, Mountaineering, Water sports, Horse riding and Wind surfing.

The activities conducted by NEF also include year round activities like Trekking, Horse riding, First Aid courses, Lectures by eminent personalities on a variety of topics. The motive behind these diverse and enriching activities is to generate a new generation of like-minded people who cherish the love for the outdoors and are driven by the passion to make a mark of their own. Hence the students at NEF are given an exposure to various fields, which helps them to develop into a multifaceted individual.

Apart from this, NEF has awarded scholarships to many deserving students for advance training in mountaineering, paragliding, horse riding, and wind surfing.

Everyone in the world today has a certain hankering for adventure and for doing something that has an element of adventure in it. Why do people trek for long distances? Do climbers climb peaks all over the world just because they want to enjoy a better view of the surroundings? Do cyclists strain their every sinew and fiber in their bodies just for the prize at the end? All these people want to taste that ultimate thrill and the huge adrenaline rush that these adventure sports offer and that is precisely the reason why these sports have such a huge fan following all around the globe.

India has everything that an adventure sports enthusiast would like to have. Our wondrous country has the high peaks and innumerable mountain ranges on which trekkers thrive, the country is home to some of the best rapids in the world and is a true paradise for rafters. Cycling in terrain as diverse and challenging as India is the ultimate high for cyclists and clambering up the steep rock faces of the Sahyadris and numerous other mountain ranges serves as the tonic for mountaineers. However in India there is an appalling lack of true adventurers and adventure sports are hardly ever mentioned in the country.

This is where the National Education Foundation comes in and this foundation which in reality is a charitable organization is surely going all out to promote the spirit of adventure and to develop the enormous potential that adventure sports have in India. The National Education Foundation which is based out of Pune in the state of Maharashtra in India certainly had modest beginnings. The Foundation established in 1989 had no concrete infrastructure to really fall back on but what the foundation lacked in infrastructure it more than made up for it by exhibiting a remarkable drive and boundless enthusiasm to promote the spirit of adventure in the country. Today after almost 16 years of being the premier adventure sports promoter in the country the National Education Foundation has truly given a facelift to the Indian adventure sports scenario.

The National Education Foundation and all its members have never been people who are keen to rest on their laurels. This fact has been proved by the countless novel activities that have been launched by the National Education Foundation or NEF. A summer camp organized in the summer of 1992 was the first foray of the National Education Foundation into the adventure scene in the country. This summer camp turned out to be a roaring success and today NEF is proud of the fact that they have managed to instill a true and unwavering spirit of adventure and a love for the outdoors in 3000 boys and girls.

The National Education Foundation is home to individuals who share a deep sense of love for the outdoors and who are committed to furthering the cause of adventure sports in India. NEF organizes a number of camps and workshops where different disciplines like Archery, Horse Riding, Rifle Shooting, various techniques of mountaineering and wind surfing among various other adventure sports are taught. The National Education Foundation also conducts various training camps for different corporate companies and these training camps which are called Outbound Training Programs help in strengthening qualities like teamwork and improving communication skills which are so important in the corporate world today.

The National Education Foundation is also one of the very few institutions in the country which offers courses in HAM radio or amateur wireless training. The National Education Foundation conducts classes and also conducts examinations for obtaining the amateur wireless licenses or a HAM license. At the present moment, NEF has 40 trained, fully qualified, licensed and dedicated HAM radio operators.

One event which is synonymous with the National Education Foundation is the only adventure race in India. Enduro3 which was launched in 2003 by NEF is the sole adventure sports race in India. This event can be considered as something of a flagship event of the National Education Foundation and all the editions of Enduro3 have turned out to be really popular and successful. One really commendable thing about Enduro3 is the fact that NEF has made genuine efforts in each edition to inculcate a love for the environment among every participant.

The National Education Foundation also organizes an adventure race in the monsoon. This adventure race is conducted at night and the route of the race is the popular Katraj to Sinhagad circuit on the outskirts of Pune. The event which is titled K2S and a large chunk of the competitors is from colleges in and around Pune.